Greetings Salemites, As teased in previous posts we have wanted to focus on a re-work of the combat system. And quite honestly I don't see that being off the table for this year. However, I have always considered it my greatest failure that Salem offers us such a magical design space for WitchCraft and despite original efforts I do not feel it was captured or implemented correctly. This has lead to a lot of development bouncing around, but a major focus has been indeed diverted to a fairly large rework. I will most likely make a new thread in Ideas and Innovations discussing some of the major changes but we will hopefully be making small steps forward over the next month(s) as we redo the mechanic.

MAJOR WARNINGS-----------------------------------------------------When we get to a decent development stride I feel it is necessary to capitalize on the momentum and start re-evaluating major systems. Such as WitchCraft. However, changing major systems always has unfortunate side effects for those who have been accustom to or developed characters under the previous systems. There are TWO Major Warnings in this Patch to heed carefully.

#1: Witches will be MUCH more powerful, and MUCH more fragile in the upcoming months. A witch Hunter will appear in the main towns, who will currently serve no purpose other than to remind you that a 'known witch' may die much easier in the future. Players will be able to start witch hunts, and by virtue of just being on a kin list a witch may curse you, and you may accuse them. Because of this major change, a Priest will also show up on Providence and for a small fee he will take you away from your previous path and turn witches back to pilgrims. All witches who do not want to be involved in the trade during these changing times should take him up on the offer and indeed unlearn your witch ways before he leaves town forever.

#2: Providence Claim Drain. It was meant that claims would 'persist' as a way for players to take a break from Providence for long periods of time to enjoy expeditions. Expeditions that were meant to last 6 months(ish). However, the state of things is that players instead built massive claims, and decided to simply not pay them at all. In an upcoming patch I currently plan to INCREASE Pclaim 'buffer' to hold 6 months of silver so that you can indeed leave Providence for a bit to enjoy the expeditions. However, at this point I see no reason that your silver-less claims should continue to provide you protection. Plan accordingly.

Mason Lodge Level 4The Mason Lodge level 4 will be live. As always players are encouraged to PM me screenshots of it so I can gauge when best to begin work on Level 5.

WitchCraft Re-Write Part I*Part I of the Witchcraft Re-write is in. Numen is a thing on the test server as well as plenty of more powerful and fun spells. The balance, however, is not quite right and instead of having some chaotic mess I'm going to table implementation of the basic spells for at least another week. In the meantime, Perennial Philosophy is re purposed after this patch. I'll most likely need to nerf the hell out of existing Perennial as well. But for now there should be no more pilgrim skills, and no more pilgrim inspirationals that use the stat.*Witches no longer gain madness when they see darkness monsters.*Argopelters now give madness when being seen by Pilgrims.

Bot Tracking I've written new traffic Messages for more automated tracking as requested by Marp. Please take this as a reminder that I will now receive more server messages than normal regarding highly repetitive actions. I will as such, be utilizing "Salem Man" more often. If he shows up, and witnesses botting, he will become very angry and start torching bases. So take this as yet another warning that automating complex salem tasks is not acceptable.

Further Animation WorkWe have been working further on animations. Wander and Run have been changed. These are NOT their final forms. But are live for additional feedback. Walking and moving about is what you do most often in Salem, and as such, Marp is attempting to refine his skills on animations as much as possible before we settle on a final walk/wander/run series.

Playtime Calculation Adjustment*The way playtime is calculated has been rewritten. Players will now accrue total play time while playing and will no longer need to log out to update their playtime for the sake of Trade orders. Please keep in mind that hte Timekeeper himself still visits you when you sleep to change your hair white and thus his record keeping will still require sleeping in a bed as your official way to register your playtime with him.

*His Majesty Royal Ginger will now tell you how many minutes you have remaining before you can gather a trade order due to lack of playtime between orders.

PVP Changes*Cannons now fire a cannonball as opposed to tracing a line.*Loaded and Unlit Cannons may now be 'tilted' left or right prior to lighting for further accuracy.*Structures now make sound effects when destroyed depending on what they are made out of.*Players may no longer Salvage cannons.

Minor Balance ChangesWingarangs now return to the spot they were thrown from if not connecting with their target.Trial By Fires now require less materials as requested HerePlayers now have additional uses for wool as requested Here*BUGFIX: The persisting sound effect when digging up paved tiles should no longer be a thing.The paving from gem shards is now done from fractured gems.Windmill Theory now further down the Stocks Tree.Whetstones are now an inspirationalTorches may now go in Toolbelts and toolboxes.Sick players who vomit will now appropriately leave it on the ground.Giant Bat now spawns bats less often.Giant Bats are now more aggressive in their attack behavior.Wild Turtles now hibernate during a cold snap.Turtle Rattle Inspirational Uses nerfed.Players may no longer Salvage dry board piles that are done drying.Players may no longer salvage pinata poles.PLayers now visually cuddle up with their wool blanket.Monarch Butterflys can sometimes be found on milkweeds.

Support the PatchSupport the Patch will be back with a new cosmetic item. The Dark Plague Masque as displayed above.

Pactch 2.2.4.1

SuperBALL WeekendThe Salem Superball Event is back. Players will find that they have their Jerseys from the 17 Superball given free. And a gaming token to place a bet on the 18 superball for the jersey of the winning team should they win!.

This Superball has a new special feature.*While Holding a Superball you may also Exude Bravery through a Trumpet.*Bravery will quickly exhaust any fear buff you may have.*Players may also Take a Knee while they are Exuding Bravery, and would be foolish to do so.

New ContentNew Item: Boomstick Duffle Bag.New Item: Bark Binder

Minor Tweaks*Bark Boots now require more bark to make.*Splitting Potatoes into Potato Chunks now makes a sound.

This will be the only patch for this weekend as I continue to focus on 2.3. Something better than nothing I s'pose.

ceedat wrote:the overwhelming frustration of these forums and the unnecessarily over complicated game mechanics is what i enjoy about this game most.